A Moment in Time
by My Angel of Darkness
Summary: A sudden stumble and fall leads to Kurt meeting a girl unlike anyone he has ever met. After changing everything Kurt has ever known something happens to alter not only him but the other members of the Glee club. Who will save Kurt Slash Purt Dark themes!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A sudden stumble and fall leads to Kurt meeting a girl unlike anyone he has ever met. After changing everything Kurt has ever known something happens to alter not only him but the other members of the Glee club. Who will Kurt turn to in the aftermath? Slash Kurt/Puck. VERY DARK THEMES!

Chapter 1:

A loud clang echoed through the hallway of Mckinley High School as Kurt closed his locker door with a swing of his hip. The hallway was now empty, which was odd at that point in the day. Kurt leaned down to grab his satchel and Spanish book resting neatly at his feet. As he stood he felt a pair of strong sinewy arms wrap seductively around his narrow middle. He let out a squeak, letting the Spanish book haphazardly fall back to the floor.

"Noah Puckerman…what have I told you about sneaking up on me?" Kurt asked with tone of mock anger. Secretly, the feeling of Noah's arms around him gave him a thrill that sent waves of chills up his spine. The feeling never got old for him. Sometimes he even felt himself ache for the feeling of those shock waves throughout his body.

"How come every time I do this you jump you freak out like some dude is trying to mug you?" Noah replied good-naturedly.

Rolling his ocean blue eyes, Kurt sighed. As if this wasn't a question they obviously went over time and time again.

"I don't do that and you know that. And you know why I jump." Patting Noah's hand gently and stepping out of his warm arms Kurt leaned down and snatch the Spanish book on the cold tiled floor. "After months of slushy facials and dumpster tosses, I think my senses are out of whack."

"Alright, princess." Noah said lifting his arms in mock surrender, a smirk playing across the shadows of his lips. "I will make my presence known before I wrap my arms around your sweet little body."

A giggle escaped Kurt's mouth. Swinging his satchel strap over his shoulder he raised his hands to Noah's face. His fingers whispered over Noah's jaw.

Growling, he pulled Kurt to him with a delicate aggression. He leaned in close and let his lips gently tickle Kurt's ear.

"Can I sneak a quick kiss before I head off to class?" Noah's voice was low and thick with lust. Before any answer could be made, Noah quickly pulled back and fused his lips to Kurt's, inciting a lustful moan. Kurt leaned back against his locker, pulling the taller boy against him. Stolen kisses like this were fine with him in the empty halls. The fear of being seen was temporarily distant from his mind.

Noah felt Kurt run his hands over the curve of his spine, inciting a welcome shiver throughout his body. He pulled away knowing anymore of this kiss and very bad things would happen in the halls.

Annoyance etched across Kurt's delicate features and a pout was forming. Noah smirked knowing that normally a look like that would make him fall to his knees and give the smaller boy exactly what he wanted.

Before either boy could say another word a pair of hands shoved roughly into Noah's back sending him careening into the smaller boy. Kurt's head hit the locker with an eerie clang reminiscent of Kurt's locker shutting just minutes before.

Kurt lifted his head startled by a hard kick that made a clanging noise beneath him. He looked up to see his Spanish teacher, Mr. Schuester, looking at him with a mixture humor and disappointment. Kurt looked down thoroughly embarrassed. Blinking a few times he bit his lip and let the look that was normal for him fall on his face. That look that told everyone he was and always would be better than them.

He was in Spanish class.

He sighed slowly. 'Oh thank god it was only a dream!' Kurt thought before raising his eyes to look at his teacher. He struggled to keep that sheepish "Oh crap! I've been caught" look from his face.

"Are you with us again Kurt?" Mr. Schuester asked his foot tapping with a hint of impatience.

Kurt nodded feeling the dreaded heat surging through his cherub cheeks. His eyes blinked rapidly again as he tried to clear the last of the fog from his cobwebbed mind.

"Sorry Mr. Schue. I didn't mean to fall asleep." Kurt murmured his voice only a tad over a whisper.

"We will talk about it after class. For now could you please go to the board and conjugate the list of verbs I have written up there?" the teacher asked, pointing toward the black board.

Kurt nodded slightly and rose from his seat. Walking around Mr. Schue, he felt a hand gently grab his shoulder. Kurt turned to see his teacher quickly bring his hand to his mouth and brush his fingers over his lips indicating Kurt had indeed drooled his sleep.

He hastily swiped at his lips to remove the further humiliation of anyone spotting the drool settling below his lip. Closing his eyes for a split second, Kurt felt his usual superior mask slip easily over his face once again.

He walked the rest of the way to the board and easily conjugated the verbs. Spanish was almost too easy for Kurt and it took no effort to quickly handle the task. Setting the chalk in the tray he walked back to his wooden chair and slid in quick. He lowered his eyes as he felt the blush betraying his mask and settle back onto his cheeks.

The class flew by without further incident and before he even realized it the bell was ringing over head. Swinging his satchel strap back over his shoulder, he strode up to his teacher's desk. Mr. Schue was now settled in front of it, swiftly going through the test papers for his next class.

"So, care to explain why you were sleeping in my class?" Mr. Schue asked, his eyes never leaving the papers. Out of all his students, Kurt was the last one he ever expected to take a nap during class.

Kurt shrugged before answering. 'Why had I fallen asleep?' Kurt asked himself. It was something he never did.

"I don't know Mr. Schue. I guess I am just stressed with Glee, Cheerios, and all the homework." Recently, Kurt had been feeling the strain of his after school activities along with the homework he was inevitably assigned each day, but he knew that wasn't the real reason. For the past couple weeks, sleep had seemed to elude him. He was always kept awake by his rambling thoughts and musings. His mind raced faster than a horse at a race track every time he closed his eyes to fall into that much needed sleep that never seemed to come. The thoughts were always the same.

He thought about his sexuality, which while known, was not an excepted thing in Lima, Ohio. For the longest time he just never let other people bother him with their name calling and prank calls. He even let the slushy facials and dumpster dives roll off his shoulders. Lately, though, it felt as if all those things were coming back to haunt him and keep the precious idea of sleep away from him. That and the thoughts of Puck…

Kurt could feel the hated blush stain his cheeks again. Why did the mere thought of his name bring such a heated blush to his pale cheeks?

Mr. Schue sighed. "I know that people falling asleep in class happens all the time. Heck, I used to fall asleep when I was in school. But, Kurt, it's not the actual falling asleep that bothers me. It's the fact that it's YOU that's falling asleep. Is there anything you want to talk about? Maybe that will help." He raised his hand and raked his fingers through his mop of curls.

"Again, Mr. Schue, it's just stress. Really. Can I go now?" Kurt was growing impatient and a weird feeling was creeping its way into his stomach. It seemed like his teacher knew that it really wasn't the stress of his activities that caused him to fall asleep.

"Okay, but remember, Kurt, if you need to talk, my door is always open."

Kurt rolled his eyes as he turned away. Why did teachers always use that line? Very few students felt comfortable talking to their teacher about very personal problems. Yet somehow so many teachers seemed to use that same line.

"Thanks. I will remember that," Kurt said as he hurried to the door. Rounding the corner, Kurt felt himself slam into a body who seemed to be going as fast as he was around the same corner.

Papers flew from the kid's hands like rain as they both stumbled over each other. Kurt landed on his butt with a loud thud. He glanced up to see a very pretty, though not beautiful, girl leaning against the corner on which she had luckily caught herself.

Sitting for a minute, knowing that standing at the moment was not an option, he started to gather the papers strewn around him.

"You don't have to do that…" the girl said very softly. Her eyes were cast downwards as she fiddled with the scarf knotted at her neck. Kurt quickly forgot to be mad as he saw she was wearing an adorable Alexander McQueen chiffon skull-print scarf. The exact Alexander McQueen scarf he had wanted to get before deciding on his blue scarf.

''Oh, sweet Gaga! I love your scarf!" he said, all pain, papers, and floors forgotten.

"O-oh thank you," her voice still whispered. Kurt got the feeling that the girl didn't talk any louder than what he was already hearing. Her voice was deeper than he would have expected but still soft at the same time. He grinned, realizing that her stutter was exactly how his girl Tina's used to be before she got over her shyness.

Kurt brushed off his pants and smiled. "I'm Kurt…Kurt Hummel. Are you new? I swear I would have seen a girl dressed like you from miles away!" He knew he was rambling but he couldn't help but admire the brilliant outfit the girl was wearing.

"Alexi…Alexi Deturro. I just moved here from New York." A smile finally formed on her lips as she brushed her sleek black hair from her eyes. "I don't meet many guys outside of New York that even know who Alexander McQueen is!" Kurt could see her shoulders relax as she seemed to feel more comfortable around him.

Finally noticing the papers still spread across the floor, the pair quickly cleared the floor. Kurt glanced at the papers before handing them back to her. "Sheet music?" he said with a questioning tone.

"I-I-I sing, actually. Only in the shower, though." She quickly shoved the papers in her bag.

"We have a Glee club here! You should join!" Kurt said enthusiastically. Alexi shook her head vigorously.

"N-No…I am just trying to get through the school year so I can graduate…" Her voice went almost shrill. "I just want to go to my classes and that's it!"

Kurt stepped back, shocked by the sudden change in tone. And everyone thought he was a diva!

"I'm sorry! I was just trying…" She cut him off before he could finish. Fishing out a piece of paper she quickly jotted down her number.

"I have an absolutely divine sweater I think would look amazing on you…" She mumbled before stuffing the paper into his hands. Alexi took off before another word could leave Kurt's mouth.

'What a weird but intriguing girl!' he thought with a small smirk.

Kurt vowed to himself two things: one, he would find out everything he could about this new girl; and two, he would get her to at least try out for Glee.

A/N: For anyone who even thinks to wonder…No Kurt will not have any sort of romantic relationship with this girl but she will change his life in many ways. Also, as you will soon find out…Alexi has some very dark secrets


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee…unfortunately. Sorry for the lack of disclaimer in the first chapter.

A/N: This fic is a mixture of humor and darkness. It will start out humorous but will get dark as events turn. This is also eventual Puck/Kurt slash. Do not fear, it will be there but I am not one to throw them in bed in the first chapter. Alexi is an important character to me and she will be to all the characters in one way or another. To some more than others. Also a huge thank you to my amazing Beta: DustyDreams! Please read the story Pain if you haven't already!

Chapter 2:

Later that night, Kurt found himself in a similar situation which seemed to have no end in sight. He was laying across his white bed spread with his feet swinging to and fro over the edge. Thoughts of Noah Puckerman, a fellow Glee member, had again seeped into his mind. The more he thought about him the more lustful his thoughts became. He needed to talk to someone but his usual list of people-to-call-when-I-am-about-to-have-a-diva-meltdown were not ones to call to discuss and agonize over the

impending doom of a crush on one badass Noah Puckerman.

As far a Kurt knew, everyone still believed he had a huge crush on the slightly dim-witted, always confused co-captain of New Directions. That crush had long since taken a nose dive into the bottom of the ocean. 'This is senior year!' Kurt thought, almost angry with himself. 'Another crush on an agonizingly straight jock. Go figure…'

His thoughts drifted to Mercedes and why he couldn't call his best friend in the whole only had she dated Kurt's said crush but she was also the best friend of the cheerleader he had knocked up last year. She would wallop him upside the head, inevitably messing up his perfect hair, and threaten bodily harm if he even mentioned his crush. He loved his 'Cedes to death but sometimes telling her things was

like walking into sudden death. A bull with his horns aimed straight at the red cloth dangling before it.

His thoughts moved on to Artie or Tina and he quickly threw that thought away. There was no way that either of them, no matter how sweet and understanding they were, would understand a crush like his. They hadn't quite understood his crush on Finn and that was a crush on a nice adorable jock.

Dropping his head hard into his hands, he let out a strangled groan. Why did his life have to be so damn difficult? Was it so hard to have a crush on a nice normal girl like every other guy he knew? Well, almost. Rachel, the uber-opinionated slightly obnoxious co-captain of Glee, was not what anyone would consider normal, yet Finn still loved her. Since Finn was his almost-brother, he knew he had a duty to warn him of Rachel but he knew that as they had the previous year, his warnings would go unheard.

Rubbing his eyes while stifling a yawn, Kurt went to his satchel to take out what he didn't need for the next day. Nothing like an aching back to add to the slushy facials that would most likely take place the next day. As he removed the novel he had secretly stashed in the front flap of his bag, a pink piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Snatching it up and reading the finely written scrawl, he saw the name "Alexi," the "I" dotted with a small heart followed by a phone number. Snatching his phone from its

resting place on his nightstand, he quickly input the number and wrote a quick text message:

"-Alexi, Kurt here. Thanks for your number. What are you up to?"

Quickly pressing send, he set the phone down and strode over to his iPod stereo and pressed play. Soon, his room filled with the sweet melodic sounds of his favorite music. The music was slow and relaxing, filling him with a calm that he knew would last long. Grabbing his favorite pajamas and his dressing gown out from his closet, he quickly shucked his clothes and neatly set them aside to be dry cleaned.

Once that was done he lit some aromatherapy candles to give his room that soothing calm to match the melodic music drifting about. After pushing his head band securely over his hair , he set upon getting his nightly cleansing and moisturizing ritual out of the way. Halfway done putting moisturizer on his face, he heard his phone go off shrilly, jolting the calmness that had set in through out his body. Having forgotten that he had just sent a text out a bit ago he snatched up his phone ready to go verbal-bitch on whoever had interrupted him.

A smile suddenly replaced his glare as his flipped open the phone to read the pending message.

"-Kurt…? Oh! The guy who ran me over and drooled on my Alexander McQueen scarf. LOL! So, what's up? I didn't expect you to actually text me."

Kurt grinned even bigger at her proper texting. He was the only one out of anyone he knew who could write a regular text without all the idiotic text slang. Mercedes loved to confuse the hell out of his with her nonsensical texts.

To Kurt, Alexi seemed a lot less shy through text than she did when they had talked face to face. It still wasn't clear to him what had been so intriguing to him about this girl. Of course it wasn't like he had any attraction to her, but he felt some weird pull…as if he was meant to meet her.

'Ok, seriously! I need to stop watching those girlie lifetime movies after Dad goes to bed! Its making me way too "Made-for-TV Movie" here!

''-Well, nobody can tease me with words about a McQueen sweater and get away with it."

He smirked into his phone, wondering which sweater she had.

"-Ok, wise guy…fine, I will bring it tomorrow. I better get it back! Night!"

With a grin reminiscent of the Cheshire cat, he closed his phone and placed it back in its usual spot on his nightstand. A few minutes later, he was completely done with his nightly ritual and was soon tucked into bed. He had lowered the music that had been drifting through his room so that it was just a soft lullaby to his ears. Maybe it was the excitement of a possible new friend who was as impeccably dressed as he was or maybe it was the thought of an amazing sweater to wear. Before he knew what hit him, his eyes had drifted shut.

Early the next morning, Kurt was wide awake and feeling more energized than he had over the past few weeks. He glanced over his grapefruit to see Finn's head nodding inches away from his now soggy cereal. A line of drool dotted his chin near where his head was continually falling off the hand it was resting on. This sight was nothing new to Kurt seeing as how it replayed itself like a horror movie every morning. Some things would never change. Even having a girlfriend such as Rachel had not improved his soon-to-be brother at all. And to think he had actually had a crush on that. Now that their parents were attached at the hips, his crush had just felt wrong on so many levels.

"Finn, you are getting drool in your corn flakes." Kurt muttered, kicking the leg of Finn's chair.

Jumping up quickly and nearly knocking over said bowl and cereal, Finn looked around, sputtering garbled sounds that made absolutely no sense.

"Finn! Earth to Finn!" Kurt snarked out, snapping his fingers in the face of the older boy.

"Oh, hey Kurt…" Finn said groggily, the haze clearing from his eyes. "I did it again, didn't I?" he asked sheepishly.

"No…you and I were holding this whole long conversation about which is better: Prada or Gucci." Kurt grinned.

"What? We were? Well, I don't know anything about that fashion stuff you like but…" Finn said, looking utterly confused.

"Oh for the love of Gaga, Finn! I was joking. Yes, you were doing that drooling over your cereal, nodding you head, sleep thing." Kurt glared at the bigger boy clearly exasperated.

Finn grabbed a cornflake and flicked it at Kurt."Shut up, dude!"

"What have I told you about the word 'dude'?" Kurt simpered. It was truly a word he detested.

Finn rolled his eyes and quickly shoveled a spoonful of the soggy cornflakes into his mouth.

"Ok, disgusting doesn't begin to describe that! Anyway…I wanted to ask you something. Have you seen the new girl, Alexi, around?" Kurt took a sip of his apple juice as he stared up at Finn.

"Actually, I have. After Rachel went on and on about hearing the girl singing in the auditorium by herself the other day she made me take a listen. Rachel is on one of her little missions to recruit the girl." Finn reported.

"I ran into her yesterday. She seems interesting." Kurt said, thinking back to the killer ensemble she was wearing the day before.

"She reminds me a lot of you." Finn said grinning.

"We have been over this! I only wore a skirt that one time and it was a man skirt at that!" Kurt crossed his arms in a diva-like fashion.

"No, stupid. I just meant the way she dresses. She wears clothes as nice as yours." Another cornflake sailed over Kurt's shoulder

"Some football player you are…can't even hit me with a cornflake." Kurt muttered, his posture less defensive.

"Whatever, dude." Finn rolled his eyes as he rinsed out his bowl and placed it in the sink. "Are you giving me a ride to school or what?" Finn swung his bag over his shoulder and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Yes, fine. But you put your grimy feet on my dashboard again and I am booting your ass to the curb." Kurt sauntered out the front door, his hips swinging with diva flair.

The drive to school was uneventful and only twice had Kurt pulled over to attempt to push Finn from his baby. Once they parked, Finn took off in search of Rachel while Kurt held his head high, then nearly stopped as he saw the usual herd of jocks walking towards him. 'Oh great,' he thought, 'another trip to the dumpster.'

Before the jocks could even get close, Kurt felt an arm loop through his. He jumped, fearing it was another jock that had hidden and was preparing to keep him there until the other jocks came. He looked up and let out a deep sigh of relief. Alexi had woven her arm through Kurt's and smiled a shy but knowing smile. Her other hand was nervously twisting the ends of a cashmere purple scarf that was again knotted right at her throat.

She quickly steered him away from the jocks towards her car which was parked a few spots from Kurt's.

"How did you know?" Kurt asked as they reached her car. His voice held a tone of obvious relief.

"I saw you get dumpster tossed yesterday. I asked around a little bit and I was told it was a normal thing. Least I could do was steer you in another direction." Alexi opened the door to her back seat and pulled out a very soft black sweater and handed it to Kurt. "I would wear it after you get slushied…"

Kurt nodded, his eyes swimming with excitement. It was the sweater he had been eyeing the other day.

"You are amazing, Alexi!" Kurt leaned in to hug her and Alexi jumped back as if stung. Kurt looked confused. "Are you alright?"

"Y-y-yeah I'm fine. Really! I have to get going! I am supposed to meet the coach of that Glee club you mentioned. This girl named Rachel won't get off my back until I go see him." Alexi looked down, her face a bright red.

"I'll go…with you…" Kurt's words died on his lips as Alexi had already ran towards the front doors of the school.

'That was odd…' Kurt's thoughts of what just happened clouded his mind as he looked around for the jocks. Seeing none of them in sight, he took off towards the same front doors, hoping to catch Mercedes before she went to her first class. He knew if he didn't talk to her she would be murderous by the time he saw her during 3rd period.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the long time in between chapters. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep writing but I had some beautiful nags that kept on me to write it and so here it is. Please review! :D

Kurt walked into his third period class and dropped his satchel on the lab table. His best friend Mercedes jumped at the sound and rounded on him.

"I swear boy you are going to give me a heart attack before we graduate!" Mercedes grumbled good-naturedly. She tucked a strand of her black her behind her ear. She was looking at him with an eyebrow raised. Kurt was now seated in the seat beside her, his eyes trained almost blankly at the board.

"Yes 'Cedes I am fine. I just got slushied and missed most of last period. I was supposed to work on that project on the Russian Revolution with Mike and I didn't even get to start." He rolled up the sleeves of the soft black sweater Alexi had lent him. She had been right. He was smart not to wear it right away. At least that day's slushy round was over. The thought of another slushy in the face made him shudder. It was like getting bitch-slapped with an iceberg. The trails or purple or red sticky ice sliding down his face into his chest and back was always a pain to wash off. The amounts of clothes ruined by the wretched, disgusting, icy concoction could probably clothe an army.

Yanking his Chemistry book from his bag, he set it down before setting a tentative glance on his friend. "Sorry I didn't call you last night. I had some stuff to work on with my dad at the shop." Kurt lied, praying that she wouldn't see through him. He had never really lied to her. Well, except for the time he told he liked Rachel. He still couldn't believe she thought he liked Rachel. Disgusting.

"Don't worry about it. I had errands to run with my mom and last night was Wednesday, remember? I always go to church." She patted his arm and ran her hand over the fabric of his sweater. "Where did you get that? It looks like the sweater from the mall that you were eyeing. I didn't see you buy it. Did you go to the mall without me?" She glared at him. He smirked a bit. Like he would venture into a mall without Mercedes. What, was he asking for a death sentence?

"No, I just realized I already had it in my closet. No big deal. I wouldn't go to the mall without you! How can that thought even cross your mind?" he exclaimed. A giggle bubbled from his lips as Mercedes muttered a 'damn right white boy' under her breath.

He opened his Chemistry book and listened in on the lecture but as always his mind was wandering. But instead it was Alexi. Her reaction to him trying to hug her really upset him. He was used to people reacting that way to him but why did she? Maybe she found out he was gay and it made her react like everyone else. Deciding that couldn't be it due to the simple fact that she had lent him her sweater. Reacting like she did to a simple attempted hug was not normal by any means. It had really hurt his feelings whether she knew it or not. Being gay wasn't contagious. It wasn't a handicap like some people assumed. Being gay just made him a freak in most people's eyes. At least in the cow-town he lived in.

Before he knew it the bell was ringing and Mercedes was elbowing him painfully. He glowered at her as he shoved his belongings into his bag. "Must you do that? You are going to wrinkle my clothes!" He snapped, his diva flair in plain view. Her only response to him was an eye roll. He snatched up his bag and sauntered past her. "See you at lunch!" he called over his shoulder as he walked out of the classroom. His last class before lunch was English and he knew that all they would be doing reading chapter from their latest book. It was a book he had read 4 times cover to cover.

As he walked through the doorway, Kurt stopped in his tracks when he saw Alexi in the desk beside his assigned seat her head buried in her book. Her long black and pink streaked hair was covering most her from his view but he could see she had stuck an ear phone into her ear.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to get her attention. Maybe it was better that her let her come to him. She was the one who hurt his feelings. He hadn't done anything to her. What he didn't understand was why he was even letting it bother him. It wasn't like he even knew her that well.

Taking a notebook from his bag, Kurt quickly jotted down a few words and tore the paper from it confines. He folded it neatly and flicked it like a paper football at her desk. The note hit her in the head before dropping to the desktop. The sudden distraction caused Alexi to nearly fall from her seat. She had glanced around to see who had hit her. Kurt kept his head down pretending to be extremely interested in his book. He peeked out from the corner of his eye to see her frown before slowly opening the note.

'-What happened this morning? You ran off before I could even say thank you.'

He could hear her pen scratch across the paper quickly answering his question. Folding it back into a football she looked around for the teacher. Spotting him at his desk too involved with something on his laptop to notice, she flicked it back at Kurt hitting him squarely in the cheek. He looked at her affronted. He swiped it from his desk and opened it.

'-It was nothing. I just hadn't had my morning coffee yet. Sorry? '

A quick nod and a few words written on the paper followed with the paper sailing back towards Alexi though this time it got as far as her shoulder. He watched her use her heeled boot to pull the paper under the desk before she took it from the floor.

Kurt had decided to ask her to eat lunch with both him and Mercedes. He didn't know if she had people she normally ate with but he felt like he could use that time to get to know her. A poke in his side caused him to jump and he looked over to see Alexi giving him a curious look. She then nodded indicating she was accepting his offer. A grin spread across his face.

While turning the pages of his book he kept shooting side glances at her. He noticed that she was constantly tugging at the scarf around her neck. He cocked an eyebrow and leaned over. Jabbing a pen softly into her side, he pointed to his neck giving her a questioning look.

A blush crept across her pale cheeks. 'Nothing' she mouthed quickly taking her hand away from the scarf. He saw her play with the inside of her pocket and realized that she had turned her music back on to block everything out. He shrugged. It was something he could always ask her about at lunch. Lunch…now that would be interesting. He had yet to tell Mercedes about the new girl. His best friend wasn't too keen on newcomers to their little group.

When the end of class bell rang, he stowed away his book inside the front pocket of his satchel and walked from the room. Standing at the edge of the doorway, he watched Alexi gather her things and head out. As the girl was leaving the classroom, a pair of hands shoved him shoulder first into the set of lockers outside the door. The words 'fag' and 'homo' soon followed. Kurt rubbed at his now very tender shoulder and hissed at the pain. It was going to bruise for sure. A whimper escaped his mouth a he pulled his hand away. Crying wouldn't help. In fact it would probably only make the jocks, whom had a tendency to be the ringleaders in his torture, increase their level of bullying.

Students walked by as they always did, oblivious to the every day torture he endured. He wished that one day, someone would notice, but alas it seemed that today was not the day. Students continued to mill around gossiping and laughing as normal.

The tears burned stronger in his eyes and he dart for the nearest bathroom, which as per normal, was the girl's bathroom. Kurt slammed through the wooden door and threw his satchel against the wall beneath the sink. His anger bubbled beneath the surface and he lifted his gaze to the finger print smudged mirror. He longed to be like any other testosterone fueled boy and slam a fist into the wall but he wasn't normal. Again, he would do as he normally did and take a few deep breaths. He'd let maybe one or two years fall before brushing all evidence of said tears away. What he couldn't hide normally, he would hide with a fresh covering of powdered cover up and he would be as good as new… at least for a few hours, maybe.

After taking a minute to compose himself, he touched up his make up, and headed towards the crowded lunch room. His eyes scanned the room and saw Mercedes sitting at their usual table, a plate of tots in front of her and his usual group of friends sitting around the table. He strode over and gracefully sat down, making sure not to set his elbows on the table. Kurt gave Mercedes one of his bright smiles hoping to soften her up for the news of someone new joining their group. When it came to Kurt, she was very protective, sometimes to the point of smothering him. It was rare that she trust anyone outside of glee and then again she didn't trust half of them either.

Mercedes glanced up in time to see the smile and sighed. "What do you want now? I am not sharing my tots with you." She said, popping one into her mouth for emphasis. Kurt returned her sigh with a grimace.

"No offense 'Cedes but I wouldn't be caught eating those lard soaked things if those were the last food on the planet. Those would go straight my hips." He reached into his bag and pulled out a bag of fruit and a sandwich on whole wheat bread.

"It's better than that rabbit food you eat." Mercedes grumbled back. "Now spill white boy. You don't give me that killed pearly white smile unless you want something."

"There is this new girl I met yesterday. She is really sweet and I think she could use some friends. I invited her to sit with us." Kurt explained quickly.

"Kurt…" She whined a little. Her time with Kurt was already quite limited and it hurt her that he invited someone else not even thinking of her. "There is no room at the table."

Kurt's eyebrow rose as he motioned to the empty chair next to him. "Ha. Nice try. Next time come up with something better than that." He gently reached over and patted her hand. "Just give her a chance…for me. Okay?"

"Fine, but if I find anything off about her I swear you will hear about it." Mercedes warned him, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

Kurt squealed excitedly. "You won't regret it! I promise!" He jumped up and down in his seat as he waited for Alexi to show up. He hoped she hadn't decided to skip out. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Alexi appeared through the doorway, her eyes scanning the crowd for him. As soon as she spotted him, a small smile spread over her face. Kurt waved his hand over his head just in case.

Alexi quickly made her way to his table and sat down, almost slumping into the chair.

"I went to the library thinking that was the cafeteria…" She muttered dramatically. Kurt giggled.

"That old librarian will skin you alive if you bring food in there. Only way to get past her is sing some M.C. Hammer. She'll be putty in your hands." Kurt joked, causing Mercedes to burst into loud laughs with Kurt soon joining in. Alexi looked between the two in confusion.

"Am I missing something?" She asked, suddenly feeling a bit left out.

"Just a thing from last year. Nothing major." She tentatively put her hand out. "I'm Mercedes Jones. White boy over here's best friend."

Alexi shook Mercedes hands daintily, using only her finger tips. "Alexi Deturro. Transferred here from New York."

"New York? Wow! What brings you here to little old Lima, Ohio?" Mercedes questioned as she set to work on her tots.

"Family wanted to started over." Alexi said, not adding any more to the explanation.

Kurt sat back and watched as Mercedes and Alexi slowly talked, feeling each other out for weaknesses. It bothered him a little that Mercedes acted like he wasn't allowed another friend besides the ones from glee. Even with all the friends he had, it was easy to feel lonely. Kurt broke of his musings when he felt a tug on his sweater.

"When did you buy this? I know you didn't go shopping without me." Mercedes asked, as she touched the soft material again.

"It's mine." Alexi said quickly, thinking she was helping.

"Wait, how come you are already borrowing clothes from her?" Mercedes voice had a slight edge to it. Jealousy was evident in her voice.

Before Kurt could answer, Alexi cut in again. "After I plowed him over yesterday it was the least I could do. He looks good in it anyways. He told me last night…"

Mercedes cut in again. "Last night? Kurt, you blew me off last night to talk to her? What the hell? She was good enough to talk to but you make up some lame ass excuse to why you can't talk to me? Whatever." Mercedes quickly stormed off, leaving her half eaten plate of tots on the table. Realizing she left them, Mercedes stormed back and grabbed the plate, before storming off in a huff again.

Kurt stared after her in shock. He knew Mercedes was a bit possessive of their friendship but he hadn't seen her act like this before. He turned to Alexi.

"Did you really have to rub that in her face?" He asked, a snotty tone evident.

"What?" Alexi asked clearly more confused than he was by her actions. "I was only trying to help. I don't understand."

Kurt shook his head. "Did you not read what I wrote when I asked you to eat with me? I told you not to mention last night. And this was the reason why."

"You know, I left my old school thinking I would leave all this crap behind. The whole who sits with who, who can be who's friend, who is cool and who isn't bullshit behind. I guess it's the same every where. Whatever. Dry clean my sweater and give it back. See ya." Alexi grabbed her bag and stormed off in the opposite direction not even sparing a look at Kurt.

Kurt let out a loud sigh and continued to eat his lunch in silence.

The last couple of hours before glee seemed to pass slowly. Neither Alexi nor Mercedes were talking to him which gave him absolutely no distraction. Finally, the last bell rang and he raced out glad to see neither hide nor hair of any jock. Maybe this time he would make it to glee unharmed. He reached the door to the choir room and saw and hastily written note tape to the door.

GLEE PRACTICE: AUDITORIUM

Kurt looked at the sign in surprise. He shrugged as he made his way to the auditorium. He saw that a few members of the club and were already seated. Mike and Tina were seated on the back railing deep in some conversation, probably Asian. He could see Artie and Brittany talking softly on the other side. Though it seemed more like Artie was discussing something while Brittany stared off into space with a dopey smile spread across her lips. Rachel was seated on the each of the stage, piled of sheet music spread around her. She looked deep in thought.

Kurt sat in his usual seat towards the aisle of the auditorium. It wasn't long before everyone had arrived. Puck had, as per usual, arrived last and Kurt couldn't help but watch as Puck strolled in looking as if had had not one care in the world.

"Alright everyone. Attention!" Mr. Schuester called out. Everyone's voices tapered off. "I am holding practice in here due to an audition!" He clapped his hands excitedly then frowned at the lack of enthusiasm. "Come on guys, with Matt gone we need a twelfth member. So, please be kind and courteous while she tries out."

As soon as he finished a loud squeal echoed through the auditorium as Alexi made her way out to the center of the stage. "Sorry!" She said, her eyes widening. Five seconds in and she was sure she was already making a bad impression.

Alexi took a deep breath and spoke, her voice as soft as the first time Kurt ever heard her speak. "I-I'm Alexi Deturro and I'll b-be singing Avril Lavigne's 'I'm w-with You'."

The slow and sad melody began to play through the auditorium and it wasn't hard to get caught up before the words even began.

Alexi closed her eyes and began.

_I'm standing on the bridge_._  
_

_I'm waiting in the dark  
_

_I thought that you'd be here by now  
_

_There's nothing but the rain  
_

_No footsteps on the ground  
_

_I'm listening but there's no sound _

Her eyes looked sad and her voice was soft as if almost afraid to sing out. As the song picked up in power so did her voice.

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?  
_

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

She sang out just a bit more, her voice raw and beautiful. She reached her hand out as she was reaching for someone.

_It's a damn cold night  
_

_Trying to figure out this life  
_

_Won't you take me by the hand  
_

_Take me somewhere new  
_

_I don't know who you are  
_

_But I... I'm with you  
_

_I'm with you_

Alexi's arms were wrapped tight around her body. She was feeling more comfortable and she knew her best was yet to come. She moved to the edge of the stage and sat down, curling her legs beneath her slender body.

_I'm looking for a place  
_

_I'm searching for a face  
_

_Is anybody here I know?  
_

_'Cause nothing's going right  
_

_And everything's a mess  
_

_And no one likes to be alone_

Her voice softened as she sang the next two lines.

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?  
_

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

Alexi stood up and went back to the mic. She trained her eyes on the crowd and sucked in a deep breath. She sang out with all her heart, putting all her emotions into the song.

_Oh!_

_Why is everything so confusing?  
_

_Maybe I'm just out of my mind  
_

_Yeah.. yeah.. yeah!..yeah.. yeah,  
_

_yeah.. yeah, yeah yeah,YEAH...  
_

She wrapped her arms around herself then reached her hand outwards again.

_It's a damn cold night  
_

_Trying to figure out this life  
_

_Won't you take me by the hand  
_

_Take me somewhere new  
_

_I don't know who you are  
_

_But I...!  
_

_I'm with YOU...  
_

_I'm with YOU...  
_

_Take me by the hand  
_

_Take me somewhere new  
_

_I don't know who you are  
_

_But I!  
_

_I'm with YOU...  
_

_I'm with YOU..._

_Take me by the hand  
_

_Take me somewhere new  
_

_I don't know who you are  
_

_But I  
_

_I'm with you  
_

_I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

She ended out of breath, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. The applause around her was thunderous. She had never gotten this kind of ovation at her old school but then again she had never really sang in front of anyone except her best friend before. She gave a quick bow and walked forward.

Mr. Schue grinned widely. "I think I speak for everyone when I say welcome to glee club.

A soft voice that only Kurt heard, spoke. "For a girl she sure does have big shoulders…" Puck spoke then shrugged blowing it off. Kurt bit his lip, the words making him think a bit. He shrugged as practiced continued.


End file.
